You’ve Heard It From Scrooge, but What Does ‘Bah Humbug’ Actually Mean?
What does Bah Humbug mean?
The Christmas season is upon us and for most of us it is a time filled with joy and merriment. There are presents to be bought, cookies to be baked and plenty of parties to attend. Of course, the holidays can also be really stressful! It's no surprise that some people view this time of year either with a glass-half-full or a glass-half-empty perspective.
If you are familiar with the Christmas classic by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol, you know that Ebenezer Scrooge is the opposite of someone with good cheer. In fact, you may have thought that he coined the phrase "bah humbug" based on his negative attitude. But what does "bah humbug" mean, exactly?
The fact that Scrooge seems to hate Christmas makes us ascribe the saying to someone who simply has no interest in the holiday. However, there is more to the meaning than just a general dislike. It's more of a reflection of a pessimistic view or misunderstanding of what Christmas is all about. We'll explain where "bah humbug" originated from and what the deeper meaning of the phrase portrays.
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Where 'Bah Humbug' Originated From
The word "humbug," was first coined back in the 1700s. Although it's uncertain where the word first originated, it did first appear in writing in 1750. It was a trendy slang word that was used and then seen in a 1750 issue of The Student, or the Oxford and Cambridge Monthly Miscellany.
The phrase "bah humbug" was made popular in 1843 because of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. The main character, Ebenezer Scrooge, would shout, "Bah humbug!" to anyone who wished him a merry Christmas.
"Humbug" also grew in popularity in America thanks to the founder of the Barnum and Bailey Circus, Phineas T. Barnum in the late 1800s. Barnum wrote the book Humbugs of the World in 1865, where he criticized con men and snake oil salesmen for their falsehoods. Even so, he also often used the term to refer to playful hoaxes that were for entertainment such as those done in his circus acts.
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'Bah Humbug' Meaning
To start with, "bah" is a word used to show contempt. This is why that word alone portrays Scrooge's utter disdain for his nephew's Christmas cheer.
"Humbug," which started as a slang word, was so widely used that it made it to the dictionaries. According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, "humbug" means to trick or deceive someone. It is also known to mean a falsehood or fraud, and many people use it to mean "nonsense."
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Why Did Scrooge Say 'Bah Humbug'?
Scrooge believes Christmas is nonsense or based on fraud because he doesn't understand what people should be happy about. He thinks it's a hoax that tricks people into being cheerful when they don't have anything to be cheerful about in his mind. This is evident when he asks his nephew, “What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”
He doesn't see the goodwill in giving. Instead, Ebenezer has the mindset that Christmas is a sham for opportunists to take money from him in the name of the holiday. Therefore, he refers to it all as "humbug," only later to understand the true meaning of Christmas.
'Humbug' Also Appears in The Wizard of Oz
The term "humbug" didn't end with A Christmas Carol. It also made a popular appearance in the book, The Wizard of Oz. Specifically, in the chapter titled, "The Magic Art of the Great Humbug."
Dorothy uncovers the wizard has a humbug when she discovers that he's not as enchanting as he's made to seem. Specifically, he was unable to send her back home and was found to simply be a little old man with no powers at all. The wizard was an example of a true fraud and trickster.
